Section 201, as referred to in shorthand, is a section of the

Trade Act of 1974 The Trade Act of 1974 (, codified at ) was passed to help industry in the United States become more competitive or phase workers into other industries or occupations. Fast track authority The Trade Act of 1974 created fast track authority for ...

(P.L. 93-618) that permits the President to grant temporary import relief, by raising import duties or imposing nontariff barriers on goods entering the United States that injure or threaten to injure domestic industries producing like goods. The provision is the analog of Article XIX of the

GATT The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its prea ...

, which allows GATT contracting parties to provide relief from injurious competition if temporary protection will enable the domestic industry to make adjustments to meet the competition.

Enforcement

Though Section 201 is rarely invoked, a major case involving the solar industry in the United States. In April 2017, Suniva, a solar module manufacturer based in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, declared bankruptcy, and in within a week had filed a trade complaint using Section 201 as its primary basis.

References

* ;Specific {{Reflist United States federal trade legislation Foreign trade of the United States